Vijay bags three
By Aalibaba (indiathoroughbreds@hotmail.com)

Kolkata
Jan 11, 2007

Three winners in a seven-event race card, on Thursday, made trainer Vijay Singh's day. However, the trainer's hot-favourite, Mystro, lost the main event, the 2,000m Pearson Memorial Surita Cup, to Starlite and Active Asset, in a close finish. In fact, Starlite selected himself purely on his paddock looks, though the Errol Bhungard-trainee had not had an outing for long. 

Starlite (Imran Chisty-up) led from the start while Mystro and Active Asset were in a close attendance. A 'breather' to the leader passing the 600m marker did allow Mystro to assume charge of the running but it was only for a brief while. Starlite was back in command nearing the distance post. It was Daniel David's Active Asset who offered some resistance to the Errol Bhungard-winner who held on to the lead tenaciously.

C.Rajendra who failed on Mystro was back in business in the very next race. It was his power-packed riding that helped Clockwork lift the 2,000m Baqlava Cup narrowly from Bhungard's challenger, Remarquable. Jockey Akhtar, who partnered the beaten horse, tried to steal a march over the field with a five-length break over the lowly weighted Salinger, with Clockwork in third almost a similar distance behind. Clockwork closed the gap nearing the final turn but it was a tight contest in the last 300m with Clockwork managing to snatch the verdict virtually at the post.

The Vijay-Rajendra combination struck again in the juvenile race, the 1,400m Tambourine Man Plate. The jockey guided debutant Secret Trooper, to a runaway victory. The winner's odds, however, expanded alarmingly to 2-1, having opened as a firm favourite at 8-10, when stablemate, Mezzano, came in for big support. It was Mezzano who shot into a three-length lead over Storm Trooper within a furlong of the start but the former went backwards like a pricked balloon at the top of the turn. Secret Trooper was in full command, thereafter, winning by six long lengths from another debutant, Cool Magic.

Robin Corner's Candle Light was a quick entry following her defeat at the hands of Ecstatic Pride and Aluminous four days earlier in a higher set up. With a 5kg allowance apprentice, Jugnu Gurang, in the saddle, the task of the Gaswar-Dancing Flame daughter was easier in the 1,100m Favourite Handicap. The filly led by five lengths from the start and maintained the advantage throughout the journey, frustrating efforts of a heavily fancied pair of Romantic Escape and Trainership. Romantic Escape was, however, unlucky to have met with interference from Trainership soon after the start of the race. Trainership, on the other hand burst blood vessels and struggled to finish the course after being in contention till the 600m marker. 

Wild Mystery presented Vijay his third winner on the day and it was jockey Shanker who guided her to a five-length-plus victory in the 1,400m Star Contender Handicap. It was a run-of-the-mill win for the five-year-old Flitch-mare who allowed the leader, Traditional Style, to call the shots till the home turn before going into the winning lead. The second placed Blazing Ability, once again, lost about 6 lengths at the start.

Javed Khan's long shot, Fighting Force, too, lost as much ground at the start but the six-year-old mare made an amazing recovery over a 1,200m sprint to thrash her seven rivals in the Romantic Eve Handicap. 

A greater blow was dealt by Dipak Karki's Thoughtful in the 1,100m Vibrant Handicap. The seven-year-old came from nowhere in the final 150m of the race to down strongly fancied horses like Secret Desire and Valintine Dancer.